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Berlin Child Porn Suspect Nabbed For Animal Cruelty

BERLIN – A Berlin man,
arrested late last month on child pornography charges after a months-long
federal and local investigation, was back behind bars last week on animal cruelty
charges after allegedly leaving several dogs, including one that perished, in a
100-plus degree vehicle at a mall in Salisbury.

Around 5:30 p.m. on Aug.
8, Salisbury Police responded to a call from the parking lot at the Centre at
Salisbury for a report of canines secured in a dangerously hot vehicle. Upon
arrival, the officers met with witnesses who pointed out a vehicle in the
parking lot with six dogs inside which appeared to be in physical duress due to
the heat.

The car windows were up
with only one inch of space from the top, according to police reports, and the
officers observed the canines were having health issues. The officers gained
entry into the vehicle and determined the temperature inside was in excess of
105 degrees. One of the dogs was found to be unresponsive and later died from
exposure to the heat. The remaining dogs were given water and air conditioning
and slowly revived.

The officers located the
dogs’ owners, identified as Kirt Barren Greenberg, 45, and Shannon Mecall
Hussain, 36, both of Berlin, and discovered the dogs had been left in the
vehicle for over three hours. Greenberg and Hussain were arrested and charged
with the cruel killing of an animal, and six counts each of deprivation of
necessary sustenance, unlawful deprivation of sustenance and inflicting
unnecessary suffering and pain.

For Greenberg, his most
recent arrest came on the heels of his arrest in mid-July on possession and
distribution of child pornography charges after a months-long local and federal
investigation dating back to last September. In January, Worcester County
Bureau of Investigation (WCBI) detectives began investigating Greenberg for an
alleged violation of the Peeping Tom law. During the investigation, it was
learned a female juvenile had been residing at Greenberg’s residence in Berlin
on a temporary basis. Based on conversations the victim had with Greenberg
during her time at his residence, she believed the suspect had videotaped her
without her consent wearing little or no clothing.

Based on interviews with
the victim, WCBI detectives in late February executed a search and seizure
warrant on Greenberg’s Berlin home, recovering several computer hard drives
that have since been turned over to the Maryland State Police Computer Crimes
unit for analysis.

Through the WCBI
investigation, it was learned that last September, the FBI began a parallel
investigation into Greenberg’s possible possession and distribution of child
pornography. The FBI began investigating Greenberg when a special agent had
logged into a public website in an undercover capacity and was allegedly
invited by Greenberg to join his chat room.

Once inside the chat
room, the FBI special agent was able to download over 500 images of child
pornography. Through its subsequent investigation, the FBI was able to track
the source of the child pornography to an Internet Protocol (IP) address
allegedly belonging to Greenberg. Based on images forwarded from the FBI on the
agency’s own investigation into Greenberg’s alleged actions, an arrest warrant was
obtained in Worcester County charging the suspect with possession of child
pornography and distribution of child pornography by computer.